I know I'm a good writer - and a good story-teller. To me, that means I'm better than average, but it doesn't mean I should stop trying to become a very good (or dare I say it - great) writer. But I definitely have confidence in my writing. If I didn't, I wouldn't even consider trying to get published.
I actually love my writing. Not saying I don't need improvement, I most definitely do, but I love the style and feel of it and the plots are just awesome
Hm...good question. I don't know if I could say I'm good atm, since I have never had any feedback on something I've written, but I like what I write and I think that with time and practise I might even be good at it one day. It wouldn't be any fun if we were all skilled writers right from the start and had nothing to improve on, I find it really rewarding to see how far I've come since the first draft of my first novel, it's like... I cannot even believe I wrote that just little over a year ago, LOL. Improving (and being aware of it) is a fun part of being a writer and I don't think there will ever come a day when I cannot improve anymore. You will never reach perfection in this profession. That said I have moments when I feel more or less confident in my writing, during the process of writing the novel. I suffer from attacks of self-doubt as I believe many writers do and sometimes I feel ready to quit for good, but fortunately that usually last a day or two and then I'm back on track. I think when you stop asking yourself if what you've written is any good and stop look critically at it you will stop working on improving, which I believe is something you should never do.
I don't mind that I'm not a good writer now. I can see that I have a lot to learn, and I'm treating learning to write like learning to play a musical instrument. It's a case of practise, practise, practise. And when I've done that, do some more practice. My fear, though, is that however lonmg and hard I practise I may never become a good writer. Then there's being able to write, and being able to tell good stories. J K Rowling may not be the best writer, but she's a wonderful story-teller. The same I believe is true of Jeffrey Archer, although I've never read any of his books.
I definitely have my doubts. I was so used to being top of the class in art, that when I switched to English I got a swift chop to my ego. I worry that there is some universal rule that your talent can only lie in one area--like only in visual art. But I've been getting encouraging messages from my dreams. Once I dreamed that I was crying because I missed taking art classes. Then the dream showed me a picture of the morning over my town. I was all like, "oohh, look at all the blues", then the dream was all, "look at the pinks too." Then I saw all the pinks. Then the dream showed me that there were lines below the picture (blank notebook lines), and that instead of painting or drawing it, I could illustrate it with words. Plus, my dreams are actively helping me get story ideas. So I believe there is some potential in me--otherwise my subconscious would just be ignoring the writing. Honestly, it never took such an explicit interest in visual art. Anyway, I also agonize about whether or not I have what it takes to be even a decent writer. I know I will never be one of the best, that would just be wrong because there are many people who deserve that more than I do. But I just hope that writing might give me a chance to try to change the world for the better. I believe we all have something special to offer the world. IMO, the only way I'll ever know if I could have succeeded in writing is if I give it my all and try.
I wouldn't say am a good writer, but I write what I feel, I guess am not really looking to improve. I enjoy what I write, and at times I enjoy reading what I write. Don't see the point of changing anything now
To be honest, I am the worst writer you will ever meet, the worse one in America. All of my writing problems come from my English problem, though English is my first language.
I think my strength lies in plot and character development rather than in constructing great sentences..... So many people out there write so beautifully but then just lose control of the plot, particularly towards the end of their books and I find it very frustrating. I have the opposite problem. I feel my books become much stronger as they progress but it's hard to find publishers / agents who are willing to read enough to recognise this..... They want to be dazzled by the first few pages otherwise it goes straight into the trash can.
And that's the nub. If all one does is just keep writing, the writer isn't likely to improve. It's the reading that matters - reading what's good, comparing your writing to it and making adjustments to improve it. If you do that, then, yes, you will improve. As for the OP, yes, I think I am. I look back over things I've written, and I see things that make me say, in complete honesty, "Hey, that's good!" Can I make it that good consistently over 80,000 words or so? Ah, that's the question!
I think I'm a pretty good writer. I read over the stuff I wrote twenty years ago and it's garbage, but I learned a lot from writing that garbage. Now, I look at my stories long after writing them and I find a lot to admire in the prose and in the imagery. I'm good. Now I have to get up the gumption to submit some of these stories to publishers. I've never submitted anything since I was fourteen! I need courage. One day I'm going to buy a large bottle of whisky, which is liquid courage, and put stories in envelopes and put addresses on them and affix stamps. I need to SUBMIT!!!
I think I'm a lot better then when I started. It also depends on my mood and what I'm writing. If I'm in a good mood and I know exactly what I want to put down in words, then I feel awesome. But most of the days I'm somewhat frustrated trying to transfer my vision from my mind to paper. Everyone has varied opinions on whether anyone can be a good writer or you're just 'born' with it. I think Stephen King himself said that you either have it or you don't. Personally, I think if someone puts all their devotion and faith into it for a long time, they can be a good writer.
Hi, I'm definately a mediocre writer, working hard to become a better one, but I think I'm a good story teller. Honestly though, some of the people on this forum that I've read while reviewing, are simply awesome. Cheers.
There's nothing I love reading more than my own writing, which is the entire point of writing it. My first drafts are just as rough as anyone's, but once they've had the ever-loving hell edited out of them, I can read them again and again... I've been analyzing and tweaking one particular story almost every day for several months. It's like a precious gem to me at this point. That's not to say that I think I've maxed out on what the English language can do. The mere fact that I have to edit my stories is evidence to the fact that I have not mastered its every twist. All I mean is that my style exemplifies my preferences to the letter (a pun?), and as such, I am my own favorite author.
I think I am good, but not great. If I didn't think I could write well I probably wouldn't be bothering!
I think I'm a terrible writer, not because I don't have a way with words, but because I don't write nearly often enough.
what matters most is not what you are, but what you can become... even poor writers with minimal talent can, with study, practice, hard work and time, plus perseverance and passion, become better writers... perhaps up to good ones, or excellent ones... only attaining 'great' status takes an inborn high level of talent in addition to study, practice, etc. ...and some of the 'greats' didn't/don't even have to work that hard at it, as it came/comes naturally to them...
Impossible to judge yourself objectively. I know if I compare very old writing with new, there is a difference. So in that sense I think I've learned a lot, and keep learning new things. I like feedback. If someone I respect has something positive to say, that's just an amazing impetus for me to do better.
I don't agree with this. I think it is perfectly possible for many people to judge their own work objectively. Not everyone can do it, but it is certainly possible and I know some who are quite good at it.
I don't think I'm a good writer at all. I've read good writers, they are amazing. I've read great writers and it embarrasses me. But I've also ready excellent writers with bad storytelling and that's boring. I wish that I could write better. I wish that I could better put my story into words, but that's really difficult for me. It's taking me forever to edit a novel I finished months ago. It's just not fluid enough to be good. I know what I want to say and I say it, but then I give it to someone to read and they know what I'm trying to say but I just don't say it well.
Fair enough. Maybe I should have said for me it's difficult, sometimes. What I thought was quite good back in the day, wasn't in reality as hot as I thought (although I'm not saying it was bad). In that sense I guess I definitely have more confidence now.
I've just been reading through something I wrote a few days ago and it seems absolutely awful now. I like to think though that the concept is there and however badly conveyed it is at the moment, that will improve with multiple editing once I've worked out exactly what it is I'm trying to say. I find it's easier to judge whether poetry I've written is good or not. I find reading it through out loud allows me to grasp what's wrong with the flow and which words don't quite fit in. Admittedly I could be wrong but I showed a piece of poetry, which I was rather proud of, to several friends, individually and they all said it was good. This was after I had specifically asked for objective feedback and I like to think I would have been able to tell if they were lying to spare feelings as I know them well enough. Either way I'm inclined to believe the first draft is always very bad but that can be improved upon on editing. Though none of the novels I've been working on have yet to make it to a stage where I would be comfortable to say I was a good writer based on them.
